Questions and Answers
by kjt1
Summary: Post-Ep to 25 - J/D dealing with the events of that ep.


Title:  Questions and Answers

Rating:  PG

Disclaimer: Yup, they're all mine… wait, what do you mean I'm dreaming again? ;-)

Spoilers:  Through Season 4

Thanks:  To Lisa and Sharon, as always :-)

A/N:  This is a post-ep to '25' and picks up right where it left off, focusing on how J/D deal with the events of that ep.

Feedback:  Always welcome at kjtinlin@aol.com

**

"Josh, go home."

"Huh?"  Josh looked up to find Donna staring at him almost pleadingly.

"It's late, Josh, very late.  You're almost asleep at your desk; you need to go home."

"No, I'm okay, but you should go home," he replied softly, a look of shock crossing his features as he glanced at his watch.

"I go home when you go home," Donna shrugged, using the words and gesture that Margaret so often used with Leo.

"Donna, it's not going to work."  
  
"What's not going to work?" she queried innocently.

"I'm not going to give in and go home so that I don't feel guilty about you staying."

"I wouldn't expect you to feel guilty, Josh," she said with almost-conviction.  Her words struck him harder than he expected and he *did* feel guilty, because he knew she was telling the truth, he knew she didn't expect him to feel guilty about ever making her work late; however, he *did* usually feel guilty, just not enough to override his emotional need for her to be there with him whenever possible.

"Seriously, Donna, you should go home," he paused and raised a hand to stop her interrupting.  "I have too much to do or I would go too."

"Josh, you don't have too much to do, there's nothing you *can* do, not right now.  You're just trying to convince yourself that by working you'll be making some sort of contribution to the President, *our* President," she quickly corrected as she saw the brief scowl on Josh's face when he remembered that the man he had helped put in office was no longer there, temporarily at least. 

"I need to be here, Donna," he insisted.  "If something happens, I need to be around."  
  
"You only live ten minutes drive away; if anything happens, they'll call you."

"D.C. is in lockdown and even with my ID it would still take forever to get back here."  
  
"Josh, --"

"Donna, I need to be here."

"Okay, but at least get some sleep."

"I will," he agreed with a nod.  "Night, Donna."

"I'm not going anywhere," she pointed out calmly, watching as his head snapped up and his eyes met hers.

"What do you mean?"  
  
"I'm not going anywhere until you're asleep."

"Donna, I'm not a child; I said I'll get some sleep and I will, when I'm ready," he bristled.

"I know you're not a child, Josh and I'm sorry if it felt like I was treating you that way, it's just that I worry about you."

"I know," he acknowledged softly.  "Who's still around?"

Donna knew what he meant and replied, "Only Leo.  He finally convinced Margaret to leave, but I expect she'll be back in a couple of hours.  Will and CJ have both gone home and Toby's gone to the hospital.  Whose office do you want to sleep in?"

Josh thought for a moment, considering the options.  "CJ's," he finally replied.  In answer to her unspoken query, he explained, "I expect Toby will come back in later to start writing the next press briefing for CJ.  CJ won't come in until the last possible moment before she has to as she'll want to put it off as long as possible, give her time to summon some energy and strength."

"Okay, I'll go grab a blanket for you and I'll meet you in her office in a minute."  
  
"Donna, I promise I'll get some sleep, but not right now," he said with mild exasperation.

"Josh, you're not doing anything constructive when you're this tired.  Please, try to get some sleep."

The combination of her pleading look and voice worked and Josh nodded his head, rising from his chair as she left the office.  A few minutes later, Donna found him stretched out on a couch in CJ's office, looking completely uncomfortable.  He had removed his shoes and tie, but he still looked restricted in the rest of his work clothes.

"Are you okay?" she asked as she dropped the blanket and pillow she had been carrying onto CJ's desk.

"Yeah," he muttered quietly, wanting to get rid of her quickly so that he could go back to his own office.

"Josh, I know you're not okay; don't think I didn't notice you rubbing your back earlier.  Look, the couch probably isn't the best place for you right now."

"Exactly, so I'll just go back to my office," he said as he started to stand.

"No, wait," Donna instructed, placing a hand on his arm to stop him.  "Wait there, I'll be back in a minute."

"Donna."

"Please, Josh."

"Okay," he grudgingly agreed, "but you just admitted that the couch isn't good for my back, so I don't see what the point is in waiting."  
  
"Just give me a minute."

He nodded to grant her request and she slipped from the room, returning about five minutes later with something large and orange held under her left arm.

"What's that?" Josh asked curiously, looking at the orange item.

"It's a yoga mat."

"You think yoga's going to help me sleep, do you?" he chuckled.

"Josh."  She rolled her eyes and gave him the patented don't-be-an-idiot look and he smirked.  "Actually, yoga probably would help you sleep, but the mat is for you to sleep on, on the floor," she explained as she unrolled the mat and placed it on the floor beside the couch.  "It won't be the most comfortable thing in the world, but it's better than just carpet and it'll be easier on your back than the couch."  Josh looked unconvinced and made no attempt to move from his position on the couch.  "At least try it," she ordered.  "Oh, I told Leo that you were here and he said to tell you that he thinks you getting some sleep is a good idea."

"And he's getting some sleep himself, is he?" Josh questioned skeptically.

"No, although I did try to persuade him.  He's heading up to the Residence in a few minutes though and he'll be there for the rest of the night, or at least until Walken returns in the morning." 

"At least you didn't say President Walken," Josh muttered.

"Josh."  
  
"Sorry," he said sincerely, tempering it with a shrug.  "It's just…"  
  
"I know.  Get some sleep."

"Yeah," he sighed and stood from the couch.  "You gonna be okay getting home?" he asked softly as he settled himself on the yoga mat.

"I'll be fine."  She handed him the pillow and he placed it behind his head.  As she passed him the blanket she swayed a little and had to rest a hand on the arm of the couch to steady herself.

"Donna?" Josh said worriedly, starting to sit up.

"I'm okay, just a little tired myself."

"You can't drive like that."

"I'll get a cab."  
  


"You won't be able to, not with D.C. in lockdown."

"I'll phone for one, I'll be fine."

"No," he said with a shake of his head, sitting up straight and looking at her.  "It'll take forever to get through security and it'll also take forever for a White House car to get you home; you should stay here."

"Josh, I need to sleep."

"I know."

"So, I need to go home."

"Donna, I know you know what I'm getting at; take the couch."  He pointed to the couch he had recently vacated.  "If anything happens I'll need you here anyway, so it makes sense."

"Yet, earlier you were telling me to go home."

"Donna."  His tone conveyed his anxiety and Donna slowly nodded her agreement.

"Okay, but I can't sleep like this."  Josh gave her a look of confusion and she explained, "In my work clothes; I need to change into something more comfortable."

"Well, now's probably not the time for you to be saying and doing things like that, but if you insist," he grinned.

Donna couldn't stop her own grin forming, pleased that Josh was relaxed enough to start bantering again.  "Go to sleep, Josh," she smiled.  "I'll be back in a minute."

Sure enough, she did return a few minutes later, having changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt and carrying a blanket and pillow for herself.  She placed the pillow on the arm of the couch and lay down, pulling the blanket over her tired body.  Josh looked up at her and smiled, but his smile fell as he noticed the look in her eyes.

"Donna, what's wrong?" he asked gently, propping himself up on his elbow so that his head was almost level with hers.

"Nothing," she lied.

"Donna."

"Josh, I'm fine, really," she said softly.  "Go to sleep."  She stretched up and switched off the light, plunging the room into near darkness.

A few minutes passed where neither spoke, but Josh could hear Donna tossing and turning on the couch.

"Donna, what's wrong?"  He repeated his earlier question with more conviction and he heard her sigh.

"I'm okay, Josh; it's just been a long time since I slept on a couch."

"Uh huh, now tell me what's wrong."

She let out a long breath before quietly asking, "What happens if they don't find her?"

"They will," Josh answered automatically.

"I want to believe that, Josh, but what if they don't?  How will the Bartlets cope?  How will the country cope?  How will *we* cope?"

Josh could hear the tears in her voice and had to restrain himself from moving to the couch and pulling her into his arms.  Instead, he settled for saying, "Donna, I thought you were the one who was always positive, always supporting me?  Don't make me reverse those roles, I don't think I can handle it."  His light attempt at banter worked and he heard a small chuckle. 

"Seriously though, Josh, even if –"

"When," Josh interrupted.

"Okay, *when* they find her, will things ever be the same?"

"No, but we'll get there, Donna, we will."  His voice was a whisper, but held power and meaning.  Hearing Donna's hesitant sigh, he rolled onto his left side and stretched his right hand up to meet Donna's right hand, which was overhanging the couch.  "Donna, Zoey will be okay, she's a fighter."

Donna felt his hand touch hers and she opened her fingers to allow his to interlock with them.  She expected him to gently squeeze her hand and then let go, but instead he applied a little pressure and then eased off only slightly, keeping his fingers intertwined with her own.  Knowing he couldn't be comfortable stretching up, but not wanting to break the contact, she moved a little closer to the edge of the couch, so that her hand was lower, and they settled down to sleep.

*

Sleep overpowered Donna's body and her hand slipped from Josh's as she moved back a little on the couch.  Feeling his hand released, Josh flipped onto his back and lay with his hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling even though the room was in almost complete darkness.  The sound of his frustrated sigh was enough to stir Donna and she quietly asked, "Josh, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," he replied, echoing Donna's own lie of earlier.

"Josh."

"It's nothing, Donna.  I guess I'm just overtired, so I can't sleep.  I didn't mean to waken you, I'm sorry."

"You didn't really wake me, I was only dosing."

"Still, I'm sorry," he said honestly.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Huh?"  Her question took him by surprise.

"It's not that you're too tired to sleep, Josh; you're thinking about something that's preventing you from sleeping.  What is it?"

"I…" he paused while he considered how to answer the question; if he lied again, she'd know and she'd only lose sleep herself by worrying about him; if he told her the truth, she might start to worry about more than just him.  Finally, he decided to be honest.  "I'm scared, Donna."

"About Zoey?" she guessed, an anxious tone in her voice.  His words earlier had done a great deal to calm her fears, but his admission was now bringing her own doubts back to the surface.

"No, well, yeah, but no."  He sat up and looked at her, even though he could only see her silhouette outlined in the darkness.  "Zoey will be okay, but it's the consequences I'm worried about."

"That she won't be able to recover from what's happened?"

"No, that *we*, the Administration won't be able to recover."

"I don't understand."

"Donna, we've just handed the next election to the Republicans by letting them take over now."

"But, Josh, President Bartlet will be back in Office; this is only temporary."

"Yeah, but do you understand the magnitude of what's happened?"  Nervous energy was emanating from him and he stood up and started pacing CJ's office.  "They'll never let us forget that the President didn't put the country first, didn't put the American Public first."

"Josh, his daughter has been kidnapped, he did the right thing!" Donna exclaimed in astonishment at his mild anger.  She sat up on the couch and watched him as he moved around the office, his outline lit only by the moon through the window blinds.

"I know, but that's not the way it will play out.  They'll say that he wasn't fit to fulfill his duties, that he was concentrating on other things."

"But, he removed himself from power so that the country was protected."  Donna still wasn't sure of what Josh was meaning.

"Yeah, because he didn't trust himself enough to not give in to the demands of terrorists so that his daughter was returned safely."

"Josh, --"

"Donna, I know that's not the way it is, that he *can* be trusted, believe me, I do; I didn't want him to remove himself from power.  But, once Zoey is back and everything is gearing up for the next election, the Republicans will gloss over the fact that Zoey was missing and will talk about the fact that we ran such a shoddy ship that there was no Vice President to take over when the President had to be relieved of his duties."

"Josh, we can overcome all that, *you* can overcome all that.  We got past the MS thing, what makes you think we can't get past this?"

"It's not that I don't think we can, it's just that…" he paused again, trying to decide how to phrase his thoughts.  "It's going to take a lot of work, a *lot* of work.  I'm going to have to work a lot harder than I had planned on to ensure that the Democrats win Office at the next election.  I didn't want it to be that way, Donna; I wanted to ease off a little over the next couple of years, concentrate on u—other things," he told her, stopping himself from saying "us" just in time.

"Josh, you would have been throwing yourself into the election campaign anyway, I know you would."

"Yeah," he admitted, "but… I didn't plan on it being so difficult, Donna.  When we did so well at the last election, after the MS thing, etc. I thought we might just manage a fairly smooth sail into the next one; I might have known that would tempt fate," he said derisively.

He had finally stopped pacing and was standing in front of the window, finding himself unable to look at Donna when he'd come so close to admitting his original future plans to her.  However, she soon joined him; she stood behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder to force him to turn around.

"We'll get through this, Josh.  We'll get there, we will."  She repeated his own words back to him in an effort to make him reconcile his inner power and bring it to the front.  He nodded at her and gave a half smile before retreating to his makeshift bed on the floor.

"We should get some sleep," he said quietly, motioning for her to go back to the couch.  Donna stepped over him and lay down again, pulling the blanket up over her body.

Both of them tossed and turned for a few minutes until Josh reached for her hand again and they finally fell into a peaceful sleep.

*

Josh was woken about an hour later by the influx of light into the office; someone had opened the door.  Thinking the worst, he sat up, gently letting go of Donna's hand in the process, and looked at the person in the doorway; it was Amy.

"What's happened?" he whispered forcefully, trying not to waken Donna.

"Nothing," Amy said quietly, whispering only because he had.

"So, what…?"  He looked at her inquisitively.  Before she could answer, he raised a finger to his lips to silence her and motioned to the door, standing up while he did so.  Amy got his meaning and turned to leave the room, but looked back when she realized he wasn't following her.  What she saw made a look of disdain appear on her face automatically; Josh was standing over Donna, gently pulling the blanket back up over her.  Finishing his task, he caught Amy watching and nodded to the door; this time he followed.

*

Josh stepped into the empty corridor and quietly closed the door behind him.

"What do you need?" he demanded with mild annoyance; he did not appreciate being woken when it was not to give him news.

"Leo told me where to find you," Amy said calmly; Josh ignored her comment.  "I… I think we need to discuss how we're going to handle things, once Zoey's found."

"You mean once Zoey's *home*, don't you?" Josh stated.

"Of course," Amy agreed, a little shocked at Josh's tone.  "I just… we need to think about how the President and First Lady handle things, ensure that they get the right balance between spending time with their daughter and assuring the country that they're now fit to run the country again."  
  


"You don't think they're fit now?"  Josh pounced on her words.  He didn't know why, but he was looking for a fight, probably as a way of releasing his pent up anger at the night's events.

"Of course I do, Josh," she said, trying to maintain her composure and not show her hurt at his words, "but you know what I'm getting at; how long do we give them together before we get back to normal?"

"What's *normal*?" Josh queried wryly.

"Josh."

"Sorry.  Look, I don't think any of this is our decision; it has to come from the Bartlets, only they know what they're going through right now.  The President and First Lady will decide how much time they need to spend with Zoey."

"I think Zoey might have a part to play in the decision as well, you know."

Josh and Amy turned around in surprise at the sound of Donna's voice; they had been too caught up in their 'discussion' and hadn't heard the door opening behind them.

"Did we wake you?" Josh asked apologetically.

"No," Donna replied with a shake of her head.  "Call of nature."

Josh smiled, but Amy peered closely at Donna, trying to see if Donna would look at her; they had not spoken since Amy asked the all-important question earlier that evening, other than to briefly discuss the First Lady.

"What did you mean about Zoey?" Josh asked Donna.

"Think about it, Josh; she must be going through hell right now and, for all she's grown up and a college graduate, she's bound to want her mom and dad at a time like this.  When she gets home, she may well cling to them for a while and we *all* need to ensure that she's not made to feel guilty about that, not made to feel like she's depriving the country of their President and First Lady just because she needs her mom and dad."

"You're right," Josh agreed and even Amy found herself nodding.

"Zoey has to come first, Josh; everything else will come later.  It might make things harder," she said, looking at him to see if he realized she was referring to their earlier conversation; he did, "but that's the way it has to be."

"Yeah."

Donna slipped past them on her way to the restroom and Josh turned to Amy.

"Look, can we talk about this later, once we know how Zoey is?"

"Sure," Amy agreed, although her eyes betrayed her annoyance.

"Good.  Well, I'm gonna…"  He nodded towards CJ's office and waited for Amy to briefly nod and turn to walk away before he entered the office.

*

Donna returned a few minutes later and found Josh staring out of CJ's office window; he had pulled up the blinds and his face was pressed against the glass.

"Josh?"

He briefly turned around at the sound of her voice, but then looked out of the window again.

"Josh?" she repeated.  "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Can't you sleep?" she asked as she came to stand behind him at the window.  She stopped inches from him and resisted the urge to copy her earlier actions of putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, I just…  I wanted to wait until you were back," he admitted.

"Well, I'm back now, so let's sleep," Donna said matter-of-factly, as if his words didn't have an impact on her; for the second time that night, she inwardly praised herself for the strength of her emotional mask.

"Yeah," Josh nodded, pulling the blinds back down while Donna headed for the couch.  Once he had settled himself on the yoga mat, he spoke again.  "You know I'd always put Zoey first, don't you?"  His tone showed that, although he was fairly sure of her answer, there was a trace of doubt in his mind.

"Yeah, I know you would, Josh."

"So, earlier… your comment about Zoey having to come first; that wasn't directed at me, was it?"

Donna busied herself with switching out the light again and ignored his question.

"Donna?"

"I…"  She didn't finish.

"Donna?" he persisted; something was telling him that Donna hadn't just felt the need to jump to Zoey's defense.

"Sometimes Amy doesn't think before she speaks; she really needs to learn what the consequences of her actions can be."

"What do you mean?"

She let out a sigh and then finally replied, "Speaking without thinking things through can hurt people, it can scare them."

"What's this about, Donna?"

"Nothing, I just felt I had to speak up for Zoey, okay?  Now, can we sleep?"

He was silent for about five minutes, but Donna felt as though she could actually hear his mind working.

"Why were you so pissed earlier?"  
  


"With Amy?  I wasn't pissed."

"No, not with Amy, earlier than that… with the faxes."

"Faxes?"

"C'mon, Donna, you know what I mean.  You got really pissed about all the faxes from the… what did you call them?  Oh yeah, the 'Lyman Hos'.  Why were you so pissed?"  
  


"They were clogging up the fax machine at a highly important time, stopping more important faxes from getting through; I mean, what would have happened if the machine had run out of paper before we got the ransom note for Zoey?"

"You didn't know that the ransom note would be sent to our machine, Donna; that's not why you were pissed," Josh calmly pointed out.

"No, but there were other people trying to fax us, important people from the Democratic Party, and so on."

"Oh, and there was me thinking that you were jealous and frustrated because they could offer me comfort when you couldn't," he joked.

"What makes you think I couldn't offer you comfort?" Donna asked with raised eyebrows.  

Josh gulped at the expression he could just see on her face; it was one of inquisition, but it held a note of hurt.

"I, uh… I… " he stammered.

"Anyway, what makes you think I'd *want* to offer you comfort?"

"I, uh… we should sleep," he stated, unable to think of a way to answer her question.

Donna smirked at his attempt at misdirection, but decided to let the matter drop, fearing that continuing down that road would just hurt her.

"Where are you going?" Josh asked a few minutes later as he heard Donna open the door.

"Restroom."  
  


"Again?  Donna, did you overdose on coffee again?" he grinned.

"No, it's nerves."

"Huh?"

"When I get nervous, I need to… you know."

"What are you nervous about?"  The light streaming through the open door allowed Josh to see Donna's patented 'you're an idiot' look.  "Zoey, right, I'm sorry."

*

Donna had only taken a few steps out of the restroom on her way back to CJ's office when she heard a voice call her name.  Steeling herself, she turned around to face Amy.

"Hi, Amy; do you need something?"

"Well, an answer to my earlier question would be good."

Donna couldn't help her flinch and she quickly dipped her head.

"I see you know what I'm referring to then," Amy drawled.

"I don't really think we should be talki—"

"You don't need to answer the question, Donna; I already know the answer," Amy interrupted confidently.

"You do?" Donna asked, her own confidence wavering.

"Do you really think I'd have asked the question if I didn't already know the answer?"

Donna stared at Amy, but managed to maintain a passive look on her face.  Both women looked at each other for a moment, as if challenging the other to say something first; it was finally Amy who broke the silence again.

"You know, I like you, Donna, so I'm gonna step back and give you a chance with him."

Donna couldn't stop the look of incredulity washing across her face but, as she replayed Amy's words in her head, she regained her confidence; she knew that Amy *didn't* actually like her, she merely tolerated her, which Donna thought crazy since she knew that she represented the type of woman Amy should be using as a model for women's rights, i.e. Donna had managed to achieve a level of power through sheer determination and hard work.  Okay, if it weren't for Josh, she would not have as much responsibility as she did, but that was beside the point.  The other thing that struck Donna in relation to Amy's comment was that Amy wouldn't step back unless she knew she had to.  Donna knew that Amy still wanted Josh; *everyone* knew that Amy still wanted Josh, including Josh.  If Amy thought she still had a chance, she would do everything she could to rekindle their relationship.  The fact that she was *stepping back* made Donna realize that Amy was accepting her attempts to get Josh back would be futile.

As the realizations occurred, a small smile appeared on Donna's face.  She was beginning to wonder if Amy knew something that she didn't; rather than Amy stepping back, did she think that, if faced with a choice, Josh would choose Donna?  She suddenly realized that Amy was waiting for her to say something, she almost looked as though was expecting gratitude from Donna; the confidence Donna now had meant that Amy would get no thanks from her.

"Well, I'd better get back to CJ's office, Amy; Josh needs more rest and he won't sleep unless I'm with him.  I'll probably see you later."

Donna didn't look back as she walked away, but she could almost see the metaphorical steam emanating from Amy's ears.  With each step, Donna's confidence grew and by the time she reached CJ's office, she was sorely tempted to burst in and push Josh onto CJ's desk.  

*

As she opened the door, the sight of Josh made her heart ache; he was sitting on the couch, on top of her blanket, with his head in his hands and his shoulders were shaking from silent tears.

"Josh, what's wrong, what's happened?" Donna asked with panic.  She closed the door to give them privacy and snapped on the office light.  "Is it Zoey?  Has there been news?"

Josh went rigid at the sound of her voice; he hadn't heard the door open and hadn't seen the light from the hallway since his hands were covering his face, so the first indication he had that Donna had returned was the sound of her voice.  He scrubbed his hands over his face, trying to remove evidence of his tears.  Finally, he looked up and saw the fear on Donna's face.  Holding out his hand, he pulled her down beside him.

"No, there's been no news," he said softly.  "I'm sorry if I scared you."

"It's okay," Donna replied.  "Are *you* okay?"

"Yeah," he said with a watery smile.  "It's just, I couldn't stand to lose another person I care about, Donna, not now."  He had been holding her hand since he pulled her down and, as he spoke, he had been rubbing his thumb across the back of her hand.  "I need to *do* something, I can't just sit here."  He spoke with conviction, but he still didn't release her hand and he didn't grip it any more tightly.

"I know, Josh, I feel the same way, but all we can do is be here… be here for the President and First Lady and, more importantly, be here for Zoey when she gets back."  She stole a look at Josh's face and saw a look of doubt in his eyes.  He had been so positive earlier that it was heartbreaking for Donna to see his resolve wavering.  "You know, when she gets back, Zoey's never gonna let you live down the fact that you were crying about her; she's gonna think you actually care."

Josh gave a half-laugh.  "She knows I care; I learned the hard way that, when you care about someone, you tell them before it's too late."

Donna knew he was referring to his sister and she involuntarily smiled when she realized that she had mentioned something very similar earlier that night to Amy; she really did *get* Josh.

A thought struck Josh and he gripped Donna's hand tightly to get her attention.  "You know I care about *you*, right?" he asked anxiously, twisting on the couch so that he could look directly into her eyes.

She nodded her head.  "Yeah, I know.  You know I care about you too, right?"

"Yeah," he nodded.

"I *get* you," Donna whispered, so quietly that Josh barely caught her words.

"What?" he asked, trying to make sense of her statement.

"Nothing," Donna said quickly, annoyed with herself for not being able to control her mouth.  She tried to pull away and stand up, but Josh kept hold of her hand and stopped her from rising.  Slightly shocked, she searched his face for an indication of his thoughts, but she couldn't read him.

They sat on the couch in silence for a few moments, Donna's right hand gripped in Josh's left.  Both looked around the office, avoiding the other's gaze, but finally their eyes met again.  Josh caressed Donna's hand once more and, hearing a small sigh leave her lips, he leaned towards her and gently, slowly brushed his lips against hers.  He pulled back just as gently and slowly, but he kept his eyes locked with hers, watching for her reaction.  Seeing the look of desire in her eyes, he leaned forward again, this time closing his eyes in anticipation.

"Josh, no," Donna said suddenly, her voice husky.  He looked at her in alarm and she gave his hand a gentle squeeze to calm his fears.  "I just… we can't do this, Josh, not now."

"Donna, I… I'm sorry, I thought –"

"No, Josh, you don't understand; I want this, I really do, but we shouldn't do this now."  She looked into his eyes to show her sincerity.  "We're too emotional right now, too worried about Zoey."  
  
"It's not confusing my feelings, Donna," he said quietly, worried that she thought he was using her as an emotional release.  "I've wanted this for a while."

"You have?" Donna asked with surprise.  She'd wondered about that earlier, after Amy's comment about stepping back, but she hadn't been sure.

Josh nodded.  "Yeah, but I guess my timing sucks, huh?" he said ruefully.

"Better late than never," Donna smiled.  "Let's wait until Zoey's found and things settle down, Josh; we have time."

"There's never enough time, Donna."

"I know," she said softly, "but if we were to… start anything now, we'd both feel guilty later, about enjoying ourselves while Zoey was suffering."

"Enjoying ourselves, huh?" he grinned.

"Josh," Donna sighed, rolling her eyes.

"I know," he smiled.  "We'll wait until we know about Zoey, but as soon as she's home…"  He left his statement hanging and Donna chuckled.

"We should get some more sleep while we can, it won't be long until the office is full again," she said gently, standing up from the couch so that Josh would do the same.

"Donna?"  He looked up at her, not moving from the couch.  "I think we both need a hug right now."  He moved so that he was lying along the couch, pulling the blanket out from under him and he then stretched his arms out to her.

Donna smiled and lay down beside him on the couch, briefly reaching up to turn off the light before settling down. Josh pulled the blanket over them, wrapped his arms tightly around her and dropped a kiss on her forehead.

"Josh, what if someone comes in?" she asked nervously.

"They'll know that we both know life is too short," he said huskily.  After a moment, he said, "Donna?"

"Hmm?" she murmured.

"Earlier, when I said I wanted the election to be easier this time, that I wanted to devote time to other things, I was talking about you, about us."

"Sleep, Josh," Donna instructed, snuggling her head into the crook of his neck.

"Yeah," he sighed.

Donna leaned over and brushed her lips against his.  She felt his mouth curve into a smile and settled down again, listening to him breath.

Both soon fell asleep, their dreams filled with thoughts of Zoey being found safe and how things would be once she returned.

**  
  
The End

Note:  For those of you who are wondering, I haven't forgotten about the next part of my 'A Day In The Life of…' series, but things have been more hectic than usual lately.  However, I've written half of it, so it should be out soon.


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